Pika3

You are the BEST Adrial!! Many thanks!

I am 10 days into my first experience with GH. For anyone else new to this, I want to share that using a cold compress with a 50% solution of hydrogen peroxide after using the bathroom and/or whenever the pain begins to build up has worked really really well for me. I found this website and am thankful to everyone sharing information, emotions, and ideas. I am 56, have been married to the same fabulous guy (he can talk like Sean Connery!) for almost 30 years. We are both totally faithful to each other and always have been. He is tremendously supportive and I am thankful not to have been faced with this challenge before I met him or before our boys were born. I honor and support those of you struggling with these complications. For myself, I am pretty much taking this in stride emotionally, but I feel the need for lots and lots of factual, clinical information. I've visited the two websites referenced by Adrial but wish there were a place to ask clinical questions of a health specialist in this topic. Can anyone suggest websites/organizations/etc?

Followed a suggestion in another forum and tried compresses with half and half hydrogen peroxide/water to be REALLY helpful. The poster said to apply HP for two minutes. It bubbles as it oxidizes microorganisms and it hurts sometimes to touch the pad or cloth to the most sensitive areas, but afterward the pain is greatly reduced and I can get on with my life until the next visit to the bathroom. I am worried about secondary infection and the HP helps reduce that possibility too.

I have done a lot of reading and, although I am new to this, I have found a couple of things to be really helpful. I use basic Ivory soap in a bar. I think it's easier to control how much soap is actually going onto your body and where it touches. The two pain-relief suggestions I found to really make a difference is hydrogen peroxide and blow-drying. After using the toilet, I pat--DON'T WIPE--dry with TP and then I hold a soft cloth or facial pad soaked with a 50% solution (half-water/half peroxide) on anywhere it hurts. Hydrogen peroxide kills germs and will help keep your sore areas clean and odor-free. I do it on the toilet to control dripping and I renew the soak two or three times per area--I read to do it for two minutes but I haven't needed it that long. Sometimes it hurts to touch certain areas, but the relief afterward is wonderful and it lasts sometimes for hours. It doesn't fix things entirely, but it sure helps. I also use a blow dryer to dry everything out afterward. Give it a try. Best of luck!